Brad Friedel returns to Blackburn for the first time on Saturday with Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies believing the veteran goalkeeper is capable of playing for at least another five years.

Friedel ended an eight-year association with Rovers last summer when he made the switch to Villa Park at the age of 37.

He has played an important part in Villa sustaining a push for a Champions League spot going into the final third of the campaign.

And Davies has seen no decline in the powers of the ex-Liverpool star despite his advancing years and is confident he can be a mainstay at Villa for years to come.

Davies told PA Sport: "I've played with some good young keepers like Tomasz Kuszczak, Scott Carson and Chris Kirkland, but Brad has been around the block a few times.

"I think he is quality. He has brought a bit of experience to us as a back-line as well and his shot-stopping is good.

"He looks after himself so well for a 37-year-old and I am sure, if he wants to, he will be playing for another five years at least. He is that good.

"I believe he has got a contract until he is 40 and, as long as he keeps himself the way he is, I am sure he will want to play on because he is still enthusiastic to play.

"He has broken the record this season for the most successive Premier League appearances and he is just a top quality keeper.

"He is very vocal on the pitch, lets you know exactly what is going on and is a good all-rounder."

Davies added: "You rarely see Brad make any niggling mistakes. When you watch Match of the Day sometimes you will think of someone 'He has made a massive boob there.' I can't really think of many of them from Brad.

"He is one of those keepers you can just rely on all the time. He showed that on Saturday with his two key saves against Wigan. He generates confidence.

"You want to keep clean sheets and if you've got a keeper like Brad behind you, you know you've got a good chance of him saving you even if the opposition get through."

Davies believes Friedel will get a good reception when he returns to Ewood Park for Saturday's league clash.

He said: "Brad is a professional guy who enjoyed his time at Blackburn and I am sure their fans still have a love for him really.

"He felt it was time to move on rather than going stale and at an age like 37, maybe if you go stale you might think about retiring.

"But he has moved here, helped us achieve our top four place and hopefully will help us stay in there until the end of the season."

Villa will be chasing a club record seventh successive away league win at Blackburn and Davies admits Martin O'Neill's side have been able to exploit more space away from home than in front of their own fans.

He said: "It just shows teams at home will try and open up a bit more and play for their crowd rather than teams coming to Villa Park and being more defensively minded and not allowing us any space.

"If Blackburn come out at us, we will have to be ready for it defensively and hopefully our forwards can exploit that."

Striker Emile Heskey will return against Rovers after being ineligible for the mid-week FA Cup win over Doncaster and midfielder Stiliyan Petrov will be available after serving a one-game ban for incurring five bookings.